When Angels & Airwaves take flight again Wednesday at the Belly Up, the four-man band will have a vital new source of rhythmic propulsion to help it shoot for the stars.

Happily for AVA (as Angels is fondly known by its fans), filling the shoes of fellow drum dynamos is nothing new for San Diego native Ilan Rubin, who in October replaced original AVA drum wiz Atom Willard.

“I’ve always been the ‘new guy’ in every band I’ve been in, so I’m used to it,” said Rubin, 23, who in 2009 took over for Josh Freese as the drummer in industrial-rock kingpins Nine Inch Nails. Rubin’s tenure for an extensive world tour with NIN started four years after he joined the Welsh rock band Lostprophets as the replacement for (coincidentally) Freese.

“In the case of Ilan coming aboard, it’s a perfect fit,” said Tom DeLonge, 36, who launched the art-rock-oriented AVA in 2005 after the implosion of his previous band, blink-182 (which has since reunited). “I’ve become good at recognizing what I need to excel as an artist, and Ilan brings a lot of those elements to the table. …

“Atom was an incredible drummer and a friend. As far as how the business and (AVA tour and recording) schedule was run, it just didn’t work out for him. (Finding) Ilan was a happy accident. He’s bringing stuff to the band that none of us can do.”

Rubin was not yet a teenager when he studied with blink drummer Travis Barker. In recent years, under the name The New Regime, Rubin has recorded two solo albums on which he handles all the instrumental and vocal duties himself. In late February, he embarks on a two-month concert tour of Australia and Europe with AVA. An extended U.S. trek is planned for later in the year.

“Ilan is an incredible drummer,” DeLonge said. “I compare it to when Travis joined blink, and we instantly had the ability to write any kind of music. I feel that way with Ilan. He thoroughly understands rock, but also understands really finely tuned rhythms. He’s even better on piano than on drums, and he likes to jump in and use all the modular synthesizer stuff, too.

“My point is, Ilan’s a guy that does all those things and just really adds to what we’re trying to achieve.”

Hmm. Does Rubin plan to eventually take over AVA?

“We’ve joked about that, that Ilan would kick all of us out!” DeLonge replied with a hearty laugh.

Rubin offered a more studied response. “I like to view myself as a utility man,” he said, “and it’s cool that they appreciate that.”